Belgian beer maker Unibra, through its subsidiary Skol Brewery in Rwanda, has introduced two of its brands — Skol and Virunga — to the Uganda market.
Skol has appointed Uganda’s BBM Distributors as its agent to import the malt beers from Rwanda.
Bienfait Biteny, director of Skol Breweries Ltd told The EastAfrican that high beer consumption in Uganda is the key driver for the brewer’s entry.
“Research has shown that Ugandans consumes more beer than any other country in East Africa. We are going to triple our production capacity to 300,000 hectolitres, starting next month, and so the Ugandan market should raise our market share,” said Mr Bitenyo.
According to the recently released WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014, Uganda and Rwanda lead the East African region in pure alcohol consumption per person at 9.8 litres annually; Burundi follows at 9.3 litres; Tanzania at 7.7 litres and Kenya at 4.3 litres per annum.
Search for new markets
Skol’s search for new markets in the region comes at a time when Rwanda’s revenue from beer exports to DR Congo is expected to tumble following the introduction of new taxes by the latter to protect its local industry.
Skol has invested over $15 million in the brewery, including purchasing equipment and packaging for capacity expansion in a bid to triple its production from the current 100,000 hectolitres. The demand for beer in Rwanda is estimated at 1.2 million hectolitres annually.
Philip Mibenge, the general manager at Skol, said that the firm is hoping to capture two to three per cent of market share in Uganda within its first year, in anticipation of setting up a plant in the country once consumption reaches 30,000 hectolitres per year.
“We are also keenly eyeing the South Sudan and Tanzania markets,” said Mr Mibenge.
Source: The East African
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